Boston Mayor Marty Walsh Called The Mayor Of Tampa Before Hurricane Irma

Mix 104.1‘s Karson Tager caught up with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh backstage at City Hall Plaza before the Boston Unity concert Friday night (Sept. 8). The Mayor opened up about the featured musical act and organizers of the night, Bell Biv DeVoe, proclaiming that “Michael Bivins and Bell Biv DeVoe are incredible to the city of Boston.”

The Democrat went on to highlight the importance of hosting humanitarian events like the Unity concert in Boston. “A lots going on in the world with hurricanes, and with racism, and with anti-immigration and immigrants… And it’s not happening here in City Hall Plaza,” said Mayor Walsh. “It’s all about love, and unity, and peace. We’re doing a lot of good things here tonight.”

“I put a call in today to the Mayor of Tampa, he’s a friend of mine,” Walsh said of Mayor Bob Buckhorn. “I said, ‘We’re praying for you in Boston, and we’re thinking of you. If you need anything, let us know.’ I mean, it’s tough. We’ll be there for anybody that wants us to be there for them.”

Reflecting on the August 19th “Free Speech” rally that saw white nationalist groups descend on the Boston Common, Walsh was thankful the outcome was largely peaceful after the tragedy in Charlottesville. “We didn’t know what to expect then and thank god it turned out the way it did,” Walsh explained, before pivoting. “And then a week and a half later we had 12 truckloads of materials brought down to Houston, and we’re gonna have more tonight.”

The Boston Unity concert was initially organized to collect school supplies for displaced Houston students, but rapidly approaching Hurricane Irma loomed heavy on the minds of those in attendance Friday night. No official word on the total donation tally, but by the size of the crowd Boston will be sending quite a few more trucks of supplies down south.